marni muir gallery

112 S. Washington St. Seattle, WA 98104

October Exhibtion

October 1 - 31, 2009

  STEPHEN YATES: CONTINUUM

First Thursday Artwalk Opening: October 1; 6-8pm

Yates' work suggests a sense of energy and movement through abstractions.  Structurally they are developed with underlying gestural marks, occasional flickering, kinetic brushwork, and less controlled drips, puddles and smears. This accumulation of paint integrates the controlled and manipulated with the organic and unpredictable.

The imagery ranges from currents and creatures underwater to reflections on the surface, from blossoms and leaves in the garden to swaths of stars in a nebula. The most recent paintings explore ambiguous atmospheres: ‘Is it the macrocosm of outer space, an ocean environment or the microcosm of bacteria and atoms?’  Yates is intrigued by such multiple readings, from the immense to the minute.

Yates has lived and painted on the Olympic Peninsula for over 25 years after receiving degrees in painting from the University of Oregon (BFA) and the University of Kansas (MFA.)  He has an extensive exhibition history, participating in over 125 group exhibits and more than 25 solo exhibits. He has received a number of awards including Visual Arts Fellowships from Artist Trust (Seattle) and Art Matters, Inc. (New York,) a Collectors Project Award from the National Endowment for the Arts-WESTAF (Santa Fe,) a Centrum Residency (Port Townsend, WA.) and a variety of juried exhibit awards.
      
His work, both commissioned and purchased, is in the collections of Microsoft Corporation, The City of Seattle, The City of Portland, OR., The KiptonArt Financial Collection, (New York.,) Overlake Hospital (Bellevue, WA,)  Good Samaritan Hospital (Puyallup, WA.,) The University of Washington and Cascadia College (Bothell, WA.,) Lincoln Square (Bellevue, WA.,) The Norm Dicks Government Building (Bremerton, WA,) The Kitsap Government Building (Port Orchard, WA,) Evergreen State College (Olympia, WA,) Eastern Washington University (Cheney, WA,) New Market Skills Center (Tumwater, WA.) Hilton Hotels, Hyatt Hotels, La Costa Resorts, St. Regis Hotels, Marriott Hotels,  and a dozen schools and colleges in Washington state, as well as numerous private collections.

Images:

Above Left: Stephen Yates, Swoop, acrylic on wood panel, 36" x 82"

Below Right:  Stephen Yates, Conception,  panel 3 of 4, acrylic on canvas, 72" x 48